Wabash earns redemption in win over DePauw
Jared McMurry
jmcmurry@jrpress.com
Wabash used a balanced effort in a 71-64 win over DePauw on Wednesday night at Chadwick Court. The win is the sixth-straight for the Little Giants as they avenged a 58-53 loss in Greencastle from Jan. 22.
Led by Jack Davidson’s 16 points, all nine Wabash players that saw action scored in the win.
“I really feel like tonight was the best that we had played 1-9,” Wabash coach Kyle Brumett said. “Every single guy made winning plays.”
Tyler Watson added 13 points, while Harrison Hallstrom chipped in 10. Davidson’s five dimes proved to be key as the Little Giants (15-7, 11-4 NCAC) connected on 27-of-53 (51%) shots for the game.
“I think a lot of it is early on their game plan is to key on me and see how they can take me away,” Davidson, who only scored three points in the road loss to DePauw, said. “And Brum (coach Brummet) really emphasized to me this week to ‘just let the game come to you, find your teammates and get them involved.’ And that’s kind of what happened. I think overall we got some good shots offensively, and I was happy with the way we moved the ball.”
Wabash took the lead for good on a Davidson bucket to make it 32-31 with 2:22 left in the first half, but DePauw (12-10, 9-6 NCAC) hung around for the entire second half.
The Little Giants stretched it to 61-55 with 4:28 left on a Watson bucket, but the Tigers clawed back with a 7-2 run to make it a one-point game with 1:44 left.
In the final 90 seconds Davidson and Hallstrom each knocked down crucial free throws to help seal the win, while DePauw seven of its last eight shots.
“We couldn’t get away from them,” Brumett said. “but minus some missed shots, we were playing well the whole time. I feel like we were so much more faster to the ball today than we were the last time we played them, and that’s been a big improvement for this team during the six-game winning streak. We’ve played more physically and I feel like our effort level hasn’t wavered.”
Led by nine rebounds from freshman Ahmoni Jones, Wabash out-rebounded DePauw 40-29.
The Tigers were just 21-of-58 from the field, including a 13-36 mark from 3-point land, after an 8-of-18 effort in the first half. Nick Felke led all scorers with 18 points to lead DePauw, while Elijah Hales added 13, and Nolan Ginther chipped in 12.
Wabash returns to the floor at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Kenyon, before returning home to face NCAC leading Wittenberg next Wednesday.
Wabash 71, DePauw 64
DePauw (12-10, 9-6 NCAC): Aaron Shank 1-8 0-2 3, Nolan Ginther 5-11 1-4 12, Elijah Hales 4-6 2-2 13, Nick Felke 6-15 3-3 18, Luke Steinhart 1-5 3-3 6, Matt Mahlke 0-2 0-0 0, Caymn Lutz 0-1 0-2 0, Nolan Niego 1-2 0-0 3, Cooper Mixon 1-4 0-0 3, Ken Decker 2-4 0-0 6; Totals 21-58 9-16 64.
Wabash (15-7, 11-4): Kellen Schreiber 3-5 2-3 9, Harrison Hallstrom 4-11 2-2 10, Jack Davidson 5-12 4-5 16, Colten Garland 1-1 0-0 2, Tyler Watson 6-13 0-0 13, Connor Rotterman 1-1 0-0 2, Justin Hensley 2-2 0-0 6, Ahmoni Jones 3-5 1-1 7, Alex Eberhard 2-3 1-2 6; Totals 27-53 10-13 71.
3-Point Shooting: DePauw 13-36 (Hales 3, Felke 3, Decker 2, Shank, Ginther, Steinhart, Niego, Mixon), Wabash 7-16 (Hensley 2, Davidson 2, Schreiber, Watson, Eberhard).
Rebounds: DePauw 29 (Felke 8), Wabash 40 (Jones 9).
Turnovers: DePauw 11, Wabash 15
